Donning mechanism for ring spinning, doubling, and twisting machines



1953 J. J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE ET AL DONNING MECHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING. AND TWISTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 22 1950 lulll v- 1953 J. J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE ETAL ,658,325

DONNING MECHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING, AND TWISTING MACHINES Filed Nov. 22, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 10, 1953 Filed NOV. 22, 1950 HAYTHORNTHWAITE ET AL DONNING MECHANISM FOR RING SPINNING, DOUBLING, AND' TWISTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 N v- 1953 J. J. HAYTHORNTHWAITE NET AL 2,658,325

DONNINGMECHANISM FOR RI G SPINNING; DOUBLING. AND TWISTINQ MACHINES Filed Nov. 22, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED G FFI CE DON N IN GL MEGHA'NISM FOR RINGZS FINN IN G, iDOUBIiING, 'AND "TWIS'IEI'NG M AGHIN-ES Applicatiom'November 22, 19,5.0, -SeriaLNo. 197,162

Claims pi-ioi'ity application Great Britain December 13, 1949 .74Glaims. 1

This invention is concerne'd "with Bring i spinning, doubling and twisting "machines, zpa'rticu- -larly though not exclusively such 'machines as in- 'corporate the dofiing mechanism which forms '=-the subjectof co-pending :United States Patent Applicationeserial No. 1955961, fil'ediNovember "16, 1950, now patent No.2,582 ,696, the object of the invention 'being to provide "an improved apparatu ifor donning the emptytubespirns or like bobbinsup'on the spind-les preparatory to the commencement of a :fresh spin'ning operation after the removal of the previously ccompleted yarn-packages, i.:such improved donning apparahis --will be a'pplica'ble tcrmachines in whichathe relative reciprocatory motionibetwe'enithe spindles and the rings niecessary "for lth'e formation of the' yarn package f is reflected iby raising and lowering thespindle r'railzinrrelation to a station- :ary ring :rail, or by ."reciprocatory movement of the "ring rail Lin relation i to "a istatiorrary' ispindle rail, or i by fa icombine'd. movement :of :both these elements: in opposite:directions.

-In La :Jring :spinnin'g, doubling cor ttwisting machine zaccording to :th invention, weiprovide in 'relationcto each Fspinningunitzaiholdenfor:releasably supporting an empty tube, ipirnror equiva- :lent bobbin, said .:holder being Jmovable :from a loading position to thes'donning positionin which, whenithe spindle? is raisedftoxitszuppermo'st posixtionrelativeitoithe: ring, orawhemthe ring is low- .eredto its lowest. position relative to x the s indle,

@a'tubesorzthelike held "by saidholder'willireceive ithespindle and lee-engaged byatheilatterzindriving relationship, and zmeans :for returning :said sholderlto'theiloading.position.

.A :plurality of said :tube :holders, zeachiirelating to the spindle of-"a machine .or o'fza unitary :section thereof may bemounted for -collectiv emove- 'ment, :either 'by manually actuated means :or :through :mechanism operated in timed rrelatio'nship "with the package building mechanism.

In order that the nature of :the invention :"and the manner 'of sits ,per'formance vmay be more clearly understood, reference is i made in the ensuing description to the illustrations, "contained in the accompanying drawings, of the application of an improved donning apparatus mo e. ring spinning machine incorporating do fiing mechanism such as that which forms the subject-of the said co;pending UnitedStates PatentApplication Serial No. -.l95,961,now :Patent :No. =2 ,582;696. -In:such .dofiing mechanism each-spindl'e is [tur- .nished with t a :removable package --carrier member designed -to support the vyarnipackage upon ithespindle and 'to be retained togetheriwith the means for'seizing and severing the yarn to.per-

mit the .yarn package to be removed from the carrier 'm'ember and dofied preparatory to the next operation of donning a fresh --set of empty bobbins I or 1 the like upon the spindles.

" In :said drawings, .Fig. 1 is a front elevation of 1 part of the. machine, showing the donning-apparatusin the operative :position. @Fig. 2 is an elevation, .partly, in section taken on the line II--=II of Fig. :1, Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 111-111 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. :2, depicting 'analternative fe'mbodiment of the invention. Fig-5 i a 'diagrammatical transverse :section through "a spinning machine incorporating donning mechanism astillustrated in Fig. 4,illu'strating the means ipro'vided *for reciprocating the spindle rails. Thelmachine exemplified in'the drawings is 1 of the kind :inwhich the-"spindlerails are reciprocated vertically in relation-to stationary ring rails.

:In the drawings,'"the 'reference numeral inedicate's the ring rail, 2 the ring, "3 the traveller .and 4 the-spindle, of an individual spinning unit. 'I-he dofiing "mechanism provided in such case comprises --a package carriermember 5 which is retained in the doifing position, i. -e. :in which it =would:su-pport a:yarn pack'a'ge'-so that the whole :of it :located above :the ring, by interceptor plates 6. The interceptor plates 6 aremounted .on-the lower side dithering-rail being supported with: capacity rfo'rsliding movement in the direction of their lengths. -:Each.plate-6 is supported wand :guided Joy-headed screwsfia, whose shanks pass :freely upwarcl through longitudinally extending slots 6b of the plate and are threaded :into the ring rail. The :plates are fOI'mBdWIBII -.interru pting projections which may bB'mOl/Bu in one-direction to interrupting-positions as shown in-Figure 2 g and in the opposite (direction to clear positions. I he structure is-more fully'shown'and explained in .Patent 'No. 2,582,696. The carrier member -5mount a yieldable-catch '1 by which the yarn 8 iis arrested'preparatory to=its severance bythe blade-9 from-the lastcoilof the yarnzpackagewhichdsto be doffed.

The :present invention :Lprovides a series of holders I0 which are--mountedwri e/common bar 41 carriedeby brackets 12 'which are fixed upon a *shaft 4'3 extending longitudinally alongthefront of the machine, or of a unitary se'ction thereof,

so that each such holder I serves a separate spinning unit. The holders I0 illustrated in the drawings are adapted for use in conjunction with yarn package tubes of plain tapering form which will fit sufliciently tightly over the spindle blade to provide an adequate driving connection between them when the spindle is rotated. Each holder takes the form of a U-shaped clip between the limbs I4, I4 of which a tube I5 is received, a spring-pressed plunger I6 mounted in one of the limbs being efiective to retain the tube firmly in the holder until the latter is retracted on completion of the donning operation as hereinafter described.

The shaft I3 is suitably mounted immediately beneath the front of the ring rail I, and it is capable of being partially rotated through a crank I3b which is fast upon it, when the full yarn packages have been dofied, between a position, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which the holders I0 may be loaded with empty tubes I5 preparatory to the next donning operation, and the position shown in full lines in which the tubes I5 are supported above the package carriers 5, resting on the scatings I'i thereof, in axial alignment with the spindle axes. As soon as the tubes I5 reach this position, the spindles 4 are raised to the uppermost limit of their movement, each being received within its respective tube; the interceptor plates 6 are then retracted from engagement with the package carriers 5, so that on their ensuing downward movement the spindles carry with them the package carriers 5 and tubes I5. When the spindles are set in motion to resume spinning, the package carriers 5 and tubes I5 rotate with them.

The severed end of the yarn 8 being still hold in the catch 1, it is caused to be wound upon the tube I5 at the instant when the latter commences to rotate with its spindle, but when the package is doffed after completion of the build, the original end of yarn is pulled out of the catch which, as will be understood, is at this stage also holding the end of yarn newly severed at the commencement of the doffing operation.

At the commencement of the downward movement of the spindles, the now empty tube holders I0 are swung downwardly into the loading position where they may be re-loaded before the next cycle of the donning operation commences. In this position the holders I9 are disposed in an attitude in which the machine attendant may most conveniently insert the empty tubes I5 into said holders.

In order that the tubes I5 may be supported the more positively in the holders II), it is convenient to mount upon the bar II, by means of a series of standards I8 fixed thereto, an angleplate I9 which is equal in length to said bar II and which serves, when the holders are in the loading position, to provide a ledge or shelf against which the free ends of the tubes make contact. When the holders are moved to the donning position, said plate I9 assists in preventing lateral displacement of the tubes due to vibration whilst still unsupported by the spindles.

The shaft I3 may be rotated between its loading position and the donning position, and vice versa, either manually by the machine attendant, or through the agency of automatic mechanism operating in timed relationship with the package-building mechanism.

When this form of doiling apparatus is applied to a machine having a reciprocatory ring rail, the shaft I3 is mounted so as to be capable of partaking of the movement of the ring rail, in order that the tubes I5 may be correctly presented to the tips of the spindles over which they are to be donned.

In the alternative embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in Fig. 4, the tube holders take the form of a cup-like socket 2|, incorporating a spring-pressed ball 22 which is adapted to grasp the side of the tube I5 of which the tip is placed in said socket 2|. The sockets 2| are mounted on levers 23 fixed to a rockable shaft I3a mounted in suitable supports (not shown) at a position adjacent the tips of the spindles when these are raised to the clotting position. The shaft I3a may be rocked through a crank I30 which is fast on the shaft. The loading position is in this case such that the empty tubes I5 are held in a horizontal position, as shown in chain-dotted lines, until the shaft I3a is rotated to bring them to the full-line position, in which they are suspended vertically over the spindles in alignment with the axes thereof. In this arrangement the yarn-guide 2 (or lappetguide) by which during the spinning operation the yarn 8 is led from the front drafting rollers to a point vertically above the spindle tip, is conveniently carried on a bracket 25 which is fixed to the lever 23, in such fashion that when the holder is moved into the donning position the guide 24 moves with the lever 23 and is turned aside to draw the yarn to a position at the side of the spindle until the holder has been returned to the loading position, whereafter the guide 24 is restored to the operative position above the spindle tip.

As shown in Fig. 5, the spindle rails are reciprocated by means of endless chains 26 to which they are attached by means of brackets 21, and which are passed over spaced longitudinal shafts 28 carrying chain sprockets 29. said chains also pass beneath sprockets 35! which are fixed upon idler shafts 3|. In the donning apparatus at the left-hand side the holder I5 is shown in the loading position, whilst the holder of the donning apparatus at the right-hand side is depicted in the donning position.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a ring spinning, doubling or twisting machine having a spinning unit which comprises a spindle and an associated ring, and mechanism for efiecting relative vertical movements of the spindle on the one hand and the ring on the other, in combination, a holder for releasably supporting an empty tube, pirn, bobbin or the like, the holder supporting a tube in the donning position in axial alignment with the spindle so that said tube will be caused to surround and engage the spindle in driven relation thereto when the spindle and ring reach the relative position in which the spindle projects to its maximum extent through the associated ring.

2. A structure as set forth in claim 1 in which the tube holder comprises a U-shaped clip adapted to receive a tube between its limbs and a spring pressed plunger carried by one of the limbs and projected yieldingly toward the other for releasably retaining the tube until the latter is donned.

3. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube holder comprises a socket adapted to receive the uppermost end of a tube and has a spring-pressed ball or like resilient means for releasably retaining such tube until donned, and in which holder moving means is provided which comprises a rock shaft and an arm fast on the rock shaft in which the holder is secured.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube holder comprises a socket adapted to receive the uppermost end of a tube and has a spring-pressed ball or like resilient means for releasably retaining such tube until donned, and in which holder moving means is provided which comprises a rock shaft and an arm fast on the rock shaft in which the holder is secured, a yarnguide or lappet-guide operatively connected with said arm and so constructed and arranged that when the holder is moved to the donning position the yarn is drawn by a lateral movement of said guide to a position at the side of the spindle and, when the holder is restored to the loading position the yarn-guide is returned to the operative position above the spindle tip.

5. In a ring spinning, doubling or twisting machine having a series of spinning units each comprising a spindle and an associated ring, a ring rail common to the spindles upon which the several rings are supported, and mechanism for effecting relative vertical movements of the spindles on the one hand and the ring rail on the other, in combination, a holder for each spinning unit for releasably supporting an empty tube, pirn, bobbin or the like, the holder supporting a tube in the donning position in axial alignment with the spindle so that said tube will be caused to surround and engage the spindle in driven relation thereto when the spindle and ring rail reach the relation in which the spindle projects to its maximum extent through the associated ring carried by the rail.

6. A structure as claimed in claim 5 which includes means for moving the holders comprising a rockable carrier for the holders, said carrier being mounted with a, common bar extending longitudinally of the machine.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 6 comprising, a plate equal in length to said common bar, and standards carried by the bar and afllxed to the plate and supporting the plate in horizontal position, said plate serving to support the free ends of the tubes, pirns, bobbins or the like.

JAMES JACKSON HAY'I'HORNTHWAITE.

THOMAS HAIGHTON.

No references cited. 

